Background
Islam was born on 25 December 1923 in Murshidabad, British India (nowadays West Bengal, India); the son of Omdatul Islam and Zakia Khatoon.
Muzharul Islam, BV Doshi and Shamsul Wares.
Muzharul Islam as a juror of the First Aga Khan Award, Geneva in 1980.
Muzharul Islam Receiving the Independence Day Award in 1999.
Muzharul Islam, BV Doshi and Shamsul Wares.
Muzharul Islam as a juror of the First Aga Khan Award, Geneva in 1980.
Muzharul Islam Receiving the Independence Day Award in 1999.
Islam was born on 25 December 1923 in Murshidabad, British India (nowadays West Bengal, India); the son of Omdatul Islam and Zakia Khatoon.
Islam received his Bachelor degree in Architecture from the University of Oregon in 1950. Six years later he was given a scholarship to study tropical architecture at the Architectural Association School of Architecture in London. In 1961, Muzharul completed his post-graduation under Paul Rudolph from Yale University.
Islam began his career by designing two buildings in the Shahbag area in 1955: Dhaka University Library and College of Arts and Crafts. Between 1958 and 1964, Islam was the Senior Architect of the Government of East Pakistan.
Muzharul was given to design Jatiyo Sangsad Bhaban (National Assembly Building of Bangladesh). But he brought his teacher Louis Kahn into the project to do a significant work for future generation. Islam worked closely with him from 1965 to Kahn's death in 1973.
Along with Kahn, he also brought Paul Rudolph and Stanley Tigerman to work in Bangladesh, and three of them came to be known as the American Trio.
Muzharul is best known for his major architectural works: Jahangirnagar University, Chittagong University, Central Public Library, Charukala Institute, the Azimpur Estate, Rangmati township, and a number of Polytechnic Institutes.
Muzharul was the creator and the first President of the Institute of Architects in Bangladesh. Islam's monumental style dominated Bangladesh architecture from the 1950s onwards. It is because of his foresight and efforts that the Physical Planning ministry was created in Pakistan.
He was awarded the Honorable Fellowship by American Institute of Architects at the National convention of the Institute at Dallas, Texas in 1999. Islam was also a member of the Master Jury of the First Aga Khan Award for Architecture in Geneva in 1980.
Besides being the most gifted architect of the country Islam has always been a strong social activist and has tried not only to shape the city but also address how physical planning can be used to provide a better environment for all walks of life. He has constantly fought against policies that would have lead to social discrimination and would have been detrimental to our physical environment.
Quotations:
"Cities should provide the environment for civilized life within the context of our own culture... The city can develop only as a part of the physical environment of the country- with the ultimate aim of abolishing all differences between the city and the rural areas. The traditional relationship with nature (still existing to a certain extent in the village of Bangladesh) should be continued in the cities."
"The artistic qualities are essence of architecture. The practical aspects of architecture are measurable – such as, the practical requirements, climatic judgements, the advantages and limitations of the site etc. – but the humanistic aspects are not measurable. This depends on the talent, sensitivity and creativity of the architect. Only some bookish knowledge is not a sufficient tool in this regard. One has to be creative. One has to love his own land, its people and its culture and think profoundly about these. The love of one’s own land is the eternal source of creative power, which in turn, makes a proper architect."
Islam was a member of the Institute of Architects of Pakistan (president, 1968-1969), Academic Council on the first School of Architecture of Bangladesh.
